Teaching Social Issues with Film
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Teaching Social Issues with Film Teaching Social Issues with Film William Benedict Russell III University of Central Florida INFORMATION AGE PUBLISHING, INC. Charlotte, NC • www.infoagepub.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Russell, William B. Teaching social issues with film / William Benedict Russell. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-60752-116-7 (pbk.) -- ISBN 978-1-60752-117-4 (hardcover) 1. Social sciences--Study and teaching (Secondary)--Audio-visual aids. 2. Social sciences--Study and teaching (Secondary)--Research. 3. Motion pictures in education. I. Title. H62.2.R86 2009 361.0071’2--dc22 2009024393 Copyright © 2009 Information Age Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. Printed in the United States of America Contents Preface and Overview .......................................................................xiii Acknowledgments ............................................................................. xvii 1 Teaching with Film ................................................................................ 1 The Russell Model for Using Film ..................................................... 2 2 Legal Issues ............................................................................................ 7 3 Teaching Social Issues with Film ........................................................ 11 4 Evaluating Social Issues Films ............................................................ 17 Evaluating Social Issues Films .......................................................... 17 Media Literacy ................................................................................... 18 Teacher Evaluation of Social Issues Films ....................................... 19 Student Evaluation of Social Issues Films ....................................... 20 5 Filmography of Social Issues Films .................................................... 23 Abortion ............................................................................................. 24 A Private Matter ........................................................................24 The Choice .................................................................................25 If These Walls Could Talk ............................................................26 Lake of Fire ................................................................................26 Roe vs. Wade .............................................................................27 Vera Drake .................................................................................28 v vi CONTENTS Addiction ........................................................................................... 28 Candy ...................................................................................... 29 Leaving Las Vegas ..................................................................... 30 Lucky Girl ................................................................................ 30 My Name is Bill W. .....................................................................31 Owning Mahowny ......................................................................32 The Panic in Needle Park ............................................................32 AIDS ................................................................................................... 33 An Early Frost ........................................................................... 34 And the Band Played On ............................................................ 34 The Gift ....................................................................................35 Philadelphia ............................................................................. 36 RENT ...................................................................................... 36 Rock Hudson .............................................................................37 Animal Rights .................................................................................... 38 The Animals Film ...................................................................... 38 Earthlings ................................................................................ 39 Fast Food Nation ....................................................................... 40 Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey ............................... 40 I Am an Animal: The Story of Ingrid Newkirk and PETA ................41 Your Mommy Kills Animals ........................................................ 42 Capital Punishment .......................................................................... 42 10 Rillington Place .....................................................................43 Dead Man Walking ....................................................................43 Deadline ................................................................................... 44 The Green Mile ......................................................................... 45 In Cold Blood ............................................................................ 46 The Life of David Gale ............................................................... 46 Censorship ......................................................................................... 47 Good Morning, Vietnam ............................................................. 48 Inherit the Wind ........................................................................ 48 Lenny .......................................................................................49 Pump up the Volume ...................................................................50 Storm Center ..............................................................................50 This Film is Not Yet Rated ...........................................................51 Child Abuse ....................................................................................... 51 An American Crime ....................................................................52 Contents vii Indictment: The McMartin Trial ..................................................53 Radio Flyer ............................................................................... 54 Sleepers .................................................................................... 54 Sybil ..........................................................................................55 Ultimate Betrayal ........................................................................56 Consumerism .................................................................................... 56 Confessions of a Shopaholic ..........................................................57 The Corporation .........................................................................58 The Girl from Monday ................................................................58 Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices.........................................59 What Would Jesus Buy?.............................................................. 60 You Can’t Take It with You ......................................................... 60 Death .................................................................................................. 61 An Act of Murder .......................................................................62 The Bucket List ..........................................................................62 Right of Way ..............................................................................63 Right to Die .............................................................................. 64 The Virgin Suicides.................................................................... 64 Whose Life is it Anyway? ............................................................ 65 Disabilities ......................................................................................... 65 A Beautiful Mind ...................................................................... 66 As Good As It Gets ......................................................................67 Bill ...........................................................................................67 I Am Sam ................................................................................. 68 The Miracle Worker ................................................................... 69 My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown .......................................70 Divorce ............................................................................................... 70 Divorce His–Divorce Hers ............................................................71 The Divorcee ..............................................................................71 The First Wives Club ...................................................................72 Kramer vs. Kramer .....................................................................73 Mrs. Doubtfire ............................................................................74 The War of the Roses ...................................................................74 Drugs .................................................................................................. 75 American Drug War: The Last White Hope ....................................75 American Gangster .....................................................................76